Boot for elevators.



N lull-1"* N" No. 350,541. l PATENTED APR. 16, 19o?. P. o. PAYNE. BOOTPOR ELEVATORS.

\ APPLICATION FILED JULY 2, 1906.

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P. c. PAYNBI BOUT FOR ELEVATORS. APPLIOATION FILED JULYZ, 1906.

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FRANK C. PAYNE, OF MANTENO, ILLINOIS.

BGOT FOR' IELEVATOHS.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented April 16, 1907.

Application filed July 2, 1906. Serial No. 324,334:-

To all whom t may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANK C. PAYNE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Manteno, in the county of Kankakee and State of Illinois,have invented a new and useful Improvement in Boots for Elevators, ofwhich the following is a specification.

My invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in boots forelevators, which are fully described in this specification and shown inthe accompanying drawings, in which y Figure l-is a transverse sectionthrough my improved device in the line l 1 ofFig. 2. Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section inthe broken line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 isa sectionin the line 3 3 of Fig. 2 looking in the direction of the arrow. Fig. 4is a top plan of the upper end of the disengaging-lever for thefrictiongears. Fig. 5 is a section in the line 5 5 of Fig. Ll. Fig. 6 isa detail section in the line 6 6 of Fig. 7, showing the construction ofthe gear-changing rod and the parts adjacent thereto. `Fig. 7 is asection in the line 7 7 of Fig. 3 looking in the direction of the arrow,and Fig. 8 is a section in the line 8 8 of Fig. 2 looking in thedirection of the arrow.

Referring to the drawings, A is a frame semicylindrical at its lower endand having mounted in it on opposite sides a pair of boxes B, which canbe moved downward by screws b, said boxes having journaled be tween thema longitudinally-extending shaft C, the forward end of which projectsfrom the frame for purposes which will hereafter appear. The shaft Ccarries a roller C', over which passes an elevator-belt D, carryingpockets d for the elevation of grain. The boxes B are made movable, asillustrated, so that the belt can be kept taut at all times, the rollerand shaft being held down by the screws t to exert a suitable pressureon the elevator-belt and being held up by the belt itself.

Eindicates a hopper into which grain can be fed to the elevator, andwhen so fed the grain will be caught by the buckets, which are moving upin front of the hopper, as shown at the right-hand side of Fig. 1, andcarried to any desired level. It has heretofore been customary to permitthe grain to run in from the hopper directly to the elevator, dependingupon gravity only to cause the flow. In such devices if the grain is toodamp it frequently clogs up the lower end of the hopper, making a solidmass, which cuts off the entrance of further grain, while if the grainis too dry it -flows too rapidly and fills up the entire lower end ofthe semicylindrical frame, stopping the operation of the elevator.

Thepbject of my invention is to produce a device which will operatesatisfactorily to `feed grain of every size and consistency to theelevator at any desired speed, so that the device will operate perfectlyand continuously without either choking up the hopper when the grain isdamp or filling up the elevator-boot when the grain is too dry. Toaccomplish this object, I shape the lower end of the hopper asillustrated in Fig. A1, with a curved lower portion e, the end of saidportion adjacent to the elevator-boot or main frame A beingsubstantially horizontal, and I journal within the hopper and at itslower end a shaft F, carrying a paddle-wheel F', which extendscompletely across the lower end of the hopper and operates whenstationary to prevent the passage of grain from the hopper to the main Aand the elevator therein. It will be obvious that when the shaft F isrotated in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 1 the grain which fallsinto the spaces between the paddles of the wheel will be carried aroundand fed out into the frame so as to fall into the elevator-buckets. Inorder to secure free action of the paddlewheel F/, it is necessary toallow considerable space between said wheel and the lower portion e ofthe hopper E, and this portion is made horizontal at its left-hand end(as seen in Fig. 1) in order to prevent grain from fall ing through thisspace without reference to the movement of the paddle-wheel.

In order to secure the proper rotation of the shaft F, I provide thesystem of gearing between it and the shaft C, which is illustrated inFigs. 2 to S, inclusive. Upon the endsA of the shafts C and F, I mountfrictio'ndisks G G. Each of the shafts is prolonged beyond thefriction-disks, and the ends of the shafts are provided with collars yg', which confine between themselves and the frictiondisks boxes H II,loosely mounted upon their respective shafts. Each of these boxes isprovided with a suitable guideway, preferably in the form of a mortisegroove, as shown in Fig. 3, the guideway running parallel to the shaftsupon which the boxes are carried in each case, and upon each of theseguideways is mounted a counter-shaft box, the counter-shaft box carriedby the box ITI being IOO IIO

indicated in the drawings by I and the counter-shaft box carried by thebox H being indicated by I. These counter-shaft boxes have journaledbetween them a counter-shaft I2, carrying near one end a friction-pinionfi, which bears on the friction-disk G. The counter-shaft is surroundedby a sleeve 'L5 within the box I, and this sleeve carries afriction-pinion i, bearing on the disk G.

The pinions are held against the disks by,

means of springs i3 i4, interposed between projections on the boxes H Hand the counter-shaft bearing-boxes I I, respectively. The sleeve i5 isrotated by a spline is, which runs in a groove in the shaft.

The counter-shaft bearing-box I carries an upwardly-projecting arm J, inwhich is journaled a horizontal pinion j, in engagement with a rack 7cupon a forked member K, engaging with a groove in a collar I3 on thecounter-shaft I2. Obviously rotation of the pinion will cause the forkedmember K to move transversely of the machine and cause movement of thecounter-shaft I2 in the line of its length, thereby altering the speedof the driven disk G and of the paddle-wheel, as may be desired.Rotation of the pinion j is effected by means of a rod J, squared at itslower end, which passes through an opening i2 in the pinion `flig. 6,this hole being flared at the top and bottom to permit a considerabletwisting movement between the pinion and rod, which will necessarilyoccur as the main elevator-shaft is moved up and down, as heretofore setforth.

It is sometimes desirable to disconnect entirely the gearing between the.two frictiondisks, and to accomplish this object I pivot upon thebearing-box I-I a vertical shaft L, the upper end of which is providedwith a lever I, which can be locked in either of two positions by meansof a spring-pressed pin 2, engaging corresponding holes in asegment-plate L. The lower end of this rod L carries alaterally-extending arm Z3, which is connected by a link Z, Fig. 2, withthe counter-shaft bearing-box I. The rotation of this rod L willobviously draw the countershaft bearing-box away from the disk G,disengaging the gear connection, the fittings of the various parts beingmade loose enough to permit such movement of one end of the shaft.

The length of the regulating and disengaging rods is necessitated by thefact that in practice the lower end of the elevator is placed possiblyeight or ten feet below the floor-level upon which the workmen arestationed, the hopper being at the floor-level or above the same, as maybe desired. In order to make the regulating devices readily accessible,therefore, it is necessary to supply them with these elongated handlesand to arrange them so that they can be readily operated thereby.

I realize that considerable variation is possible in the details of thisconstruction without departing from the spirit of my invention.rIherefore I do not intend to limit myself to the specific form hereinshown and described.

What I regard as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

l. -The combination with an elevator and a hopper opening adjacentthereto, the lower end of the hopper terminating in a horizontal surfaceover which grain will not pass by its own weight, of a paddle adapted toreceive grain from the hopper in advance of its front face, and meansformoving said paddle to pass said grain across said horizontal surface.

2. The combination with an elevator and a hopper opening adjacentthereto, the lower end of the hopper terminating in a horizontal surfaceover which grain will not pass by its own weight, of a rotatingpaddle-wheel above said horizontal surface, and means for rotating saidpaddle-wheel.

3. The combination with an elevator-roller and a feeding paddle-wheeland shafts carrying said roller and wheel, friction-disks on saidshafts, boxes loosely mounted on said shafts, collars giving outerbearings for said boxes, counter-shaft bearing-boxes guided on saidboxes, means for pressing ysaid counter-shaft bearing-boxes normallytoward said friction-disks, a counter-shaft journaled in saidcounter-shaft bearing-boxes, and a pinion on said counter-shaft and inengagement with said disks.

4. The combination with an elevator-roller and a feeding paddle-wheeland shafts carrying said roller and wheel, friction-disks one saidshafts, boxes loosely mounted on said shafts, collars giving outerbearings for said boxes, counter-shaft bearing-boxes guided on saidboxes, means for pressing said counter-shaft bearing-boxes normallytoward said friction-disks, a counter-shaft journaled in saidcounter-shaft bearing-boxes, a pinion on said counter-shaft inengagement with said disks, and means for shifting the countershaft.

5. The combination with an elevator-roller and a feeding paddle-wheeland shafts carrying said roller and wheel, friction-disks on saidshafts, boxes loosely mounted on said shafts, collars giving outerbearings for said boxes, counter-shaft bearing-boxes guided on saidboxes, means for pressing said counter-shaft bearing-boxes normallytoward said friction-disks, a counter-shaft journaled in saidcounter-shaft bearing-boxes, a pinion on said counter-shaft inengagement with said disks, and means accessible from above theelevator-boot for shifting the counter-shaft.

6. The combination with an elevator-roller and a feeding paddle-wheeland shafts carrying said roller and wheel, friction-disks on saidshafts, boxes loosely mounted on said IOO shafts, collars giving outerbearings for said boxes, counter-shaft bearing-boxes guided onsaidboxes, means for pressing said counter-shaft bearing-boxes normallytoward said friction-disks, a counter-shaft `iournaled in saidcountershaft bearing-boxes, a pinion on said counter-shaft in engagementwith said disks, a collar on said counter-shaft, a forked memberengaging with a groove in said collar, a pinion engaging with a rack onsaid forked member, and a rod extending upward from said pinion andsecured against rotation with respect thereto.

7. The combination with lan elevatorroller and a feeding paddle-wheeland shafts carrying said roller and wheel, friction-disks on saidshafts, boxes loosely lmountedon said shafts, collars giving outerbearings for said boxes, counter-shaft bearing-boxes guided on saidboxes, means for pressing said countershaft bearing-boxes normallytoward said friction-disks, a counter-shaft journaled in saidcounter-shaft bearing-boxes, a pinion on said counter-shaft inengagementwith said disks, a collar on said counter-shaft, a forkedmember engaging with a groove in said collar, a pinion engaging with arack on said forked member, a rod extending upward from said pinion andsecured against rotation with respect thereto and longitudinally movabletherein.

8. The combination With an elevator-roller and a feeding paddle-Wheeland shafts carrying said roller and wheel, friction-disks' on saidshafts;j boxes loosely mounted on said shafts, collars giving outerbearings for said boxes, counter-shaft bearing-boxes guided on saidboxes, means for pressing said countershaft bearing-boxes normallytoward said friction-disks, a counter-shaft journaled in saidcounter-shaft bearing-boxes, a pinion on said counter-shaft and inengagement With said disks, and means for moving one of saidcounter-shaft bearing-boxes away from the adjacent friction-disk.

FRANK C. PAYNE.

In presence of" J. A. BROWN, ARTHUR CYRIER.

